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The Merchant of Venice

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Dating Shakespeare’s Plays: The Merchant of Venice The Merchant of Venice he Merchant of Venice can be dated between At London, Printed by I(ames) R(oberts) for 1558, when all the major sources were Thomas Heyes, and are to be sold in Paules available and 1598, when it was entered Church- yard, at the signe of the Greene Tinto the Stationers’ Register and mentioned by Dragon. 1600. [Head-title] The comicall History of the Merchant of Venice. [Running- Meres. title] The comicall Historie of the Merchant of Venice. Publication Date Chambers describes Q1 as a good text, requiring The play was first entered in the Stationers’ little emendation. The title-page indicates that Register on 22 July 1598, by James Roberts, as the play had been acted at various times by the Lord Chamberlain’s Men and that its author was [SR, 1598] xxij° Julij. James Robertes. Entred for his copie vnder the handes of bothe ‘William Shakespeare’. The play was transferred the wardens, a booke of the Marchaunt in 1619 from Thomas Hayes to his son Lawrence. of Venyce, or otherwise called the Jewe of The Second Quarto (Q2), a reprint of Q1, bears Venyce, Prouided, that yt bee not prynted the same date, but it has been demonstrated that by the said James Robertes or anye other it was not, in fact, printed until 1619: whatsoeuer without lycence first had from the Right honorable the lord Chamberlen vjd [Q2, 1619] The Excellent History of the Merchant of Venice. With the extreme It was re-entered on 28 October 1600 by Thomas cruelty of Shylocke the Iew towards the saide Hayes, who had acquired the publishing rights: Merchant, in cutting a iust pound of his flesh. And the obtaining of Portia, by the choyse [SR, 1600] 28 Octobris. Thomas Haies. of three Caskets. Written by W. Shakespeare. Entred for his copie under the handes of the [device] Printed by J. Roberts, 1600. [i.e. Wardens and by Consent of master Robertes. 1619]; Head-title, under ornament with royal A booke called the booke of the merchant of arms: The Comical History of the Merchant Venyce vjd. of Venice. Running-title The Comicall History of the Merchant of Venice]. The First Quarto (Q1) was printed by James Roberts with the date 1600. The play was published in the First Folio (F1) in 1623, as the ninth comedy, coming after A [Q1, 1600] The most excellent Historie of Midsummer Night’s Dream and before As You Like the Merchant of Venice. With the extreame It. The play remained popular and was published crueltie of Shylocke the Iewe towards the sayd in further quartos in 1637 and 1652. Merchant, in cutting a just pound of his flesh: and the obtayning of Portia by the choyse of three Chests. As it hath beene diuers times acted by the Lord Chamberlaine his Servants. Written by William Shakespeare. © De Vere Society 1 Dating Shakespeare’s Plays: The Merchant of Venice Title page to the first quarto ofA Merchant of Venice, 1600. By permission of Bodleian Library, University of Oxford, shelfmark Arch. G d.45 (2), title page. Performance Dates of the bond for human flesh is both ancient and widespread, but the version closest to that in The play had, we are told, been performed several the play is found in Il Pecorone by Ser Giovanni times before 1600, but the first performance Fiorentino, (composed c. 1380, printed in Italian of which there is a specific record was given by in Milan, 1558). The first tale of the fourth day the King’s Men at Court on Shrove Sunday, 10 shows Gianetto travelling from Venice to the February 1605, with a repeat presentation two Lady of Belmont. Disguised as a lawyer, the lady days later. delivers Gianetto’s godfather from a Jewish usurer. Gianetto gives his ring to the ‘lawyer’ and back in Sources Belmont, his lady demands the ring of him. No contemporary English version is known, and J. R. Bullough gives the background on the main Brown suggests in a footnote: “Shakespeare may sources for the The Merchant of Venice. The story have been able to read Italian.” © De Vere Society 2 Dating Shakespeare’s Plays: The Merchant of Venice Another work, only available in Italian, provides probably a pseudonym of Anthony Munday as details for the other sub-plot, Jessica’s elopement: The Orator. Each of Sylvain’s histories begins with in the fifteenth-century Novellino of Masuccio an anecdote, followed by a series of speeches on Salernitano, the fourteenth tale tells of a young questions of law, ethics or custom. History no. cavalier who falls in love with the daughter of a 95 deals “Of a Jew, who would for his debt have miser. (This text, which was placed on the first a pound of the flesh of a Christian.” Bullough Index of Prohibited Books in 1557, also contains shows various similarities, including his final the original version of the Romeo and Juliet story, insistence on his legal right. Zelauto by Anthony later adapted by Bandello and Brooke.) Bullough Munday (published in 1580) is also considered a shows many coincidences of detail, and notes likely source: in Book III, several details of plot, that there is no known intermediary text for character and even language are paralleled in Salernitano’s story. the play (including the usurer’s daughter and her The Trial of the Caskets is known from a variety marriage, and two ladies disguised as attorneys); of sources, such as: the Gesta Romanorum (printed indeed, Portia’s famous speech is especially close in Latin, c. 1470, with English translations to the judge’s pleas for mercy in Munday’s story. published c. 1515 and by Richard Robinson in Marlowe’s The Jew of Malta, first performed in 1577): 1589, is said to have influenced the characterisation of Shylock, as there are several verbal echoes. This And when he had said thus, he commanded to view presumes that Marlowe’s play came first, but bring forth three vessels, the first was made of it is possible that Shakespeare’s play was earlier. pure gold, beset with precious stones without, Shaheen analyses the Merchant’s large number and within full of dead mens bones, and thereupon was ingraven this posey: Whoso of references to the Bible (noting that none of chooseth me shall finde that he deserveth. Shakespeare’s 60 or so biblical allusions in the play are related to Marlowe’s 36 allusions). Shakespeare The tale also occurs in Speculum Historiale by was particularly keen to refer to books from Vincent of Beauvais (composed in Latin c. 1244, the Old Testament and to Jewish practices and first printed in 1473 and translated into English names. It seems that the dramatist used a range of in 1483), Boccaccio’s Decameron, Day 10, Story versions of the Bible but for the passage beginning 1, (composed in Italian c. 1353, first printed in “When Jacob grazed his uncle Laban’s sheep . .” 1472, first translated into English in 1620) and at 1.3.70–89, he especially drew on the Geneva the Confessio Amantis by John Gower (composed Bible at Genesis 30.37–42 and the accompanying c. 1390, published by Caxton in 1483 with later note ‘m’. The latest definite source appears to be editions, e.g. 1532). the edition of Il Pecorone published in 1558. Many scholars (including Chambers, Dover Wilson and Bullough) have speculated that a Orthodox Date lost play The Jew, referred to in 1579, was “in all probability” the basis of The Merchant of Venice Chambers suggests autumn 1596 as the latest – even a first draft of it. There is fuller discussion possible date. Wells & Taylor also agree with this of this play in the section External Oxfordian date on stylistic grounds, and most editors agree Evidence below. The Jewwas answered by another and have accordingly placed composition in the play, The Three Ladies of London by ‘R W’ (? Robert mid 1590s. Brown argues that it was composed Wilson), published in 1584. From suggestions in between 1596–98. Halio, like the Riverside and Three Ladies, Bullough, following Small, argues Signet editors, opts for 1596–7, Halliday for 1597, that The Jew contained both allegorical and Mahood 1597–8. The Clarendon editors and realistic characters and dealt with questions of Dover Wilson, finding traces of rewriting, date usury and greed. the original draft from 1594. Wiggins dates this Another text, Epitomes de cent histoires (Paris play to 1596. Cairncross, much more radically, 1581) by the French writer Alexandre Sylvain, seems considers that the play could have been written as closely linked to The Merchant of Venice. Bullough early as 1589. believes that the dramatist either knew this text or read it in the 1596 translation by “Lazarus Piot”, © De Vere Society 3 Dating Shakespeare’s Plays: The Merchant of Venice Internal Orthodox Evidence obvious possibility that the allusion may have been inserted into the completed play. Various possible allusions from The Merchant Halio is more cautious about the “Andrew” of Venice to events in the 1590s have been allusion in determining the earliest date of suggested: the play might relate to the 1594 trial writing. Instead, he justifies his 1596–7 date and execution of Roderigo López. He had been on the grounds that the theatre proprietors physician both to the Earl of Leicester and to the Francis Langley and Philip Henslowe separately Queen, and was accused of attempting to poison imposed “outrageously extortionate” bonds them. The passage at 4.1.133–7 has been seen as on Shakespeare’s company during that period.
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